The present invention is directed toward an exercising apparatus and more particularly toward a leg exerciser which allows a user to perform a variety of exercises including leg extensions and leg presses.
While it has always been recognized that exercising of the lower body and particularly the legs is desirable, it has also been problematic. Although walking, jogging and running may provide substantial aerobic benefits to the body, they are not particularly useful exercises for strength conditioning. Such exercises are also not useful for a number of specific muscle groups in the lower body.
Exercise machines commonly referred to as weight machines have been designed which allow a user to exercise specific lower body muscle groups. These exercise machines frequently include a weight stack mounted for vertical movement which is linked to various exercise stations by way of a linkage system such as cables and pulley mechanisms. Moveable portions of the exercise machine are then engaged by the user and these mechanism isolate the motion and loading of a specific muscle group.
As is well known in the art, the resistance, range and angle of motion required to exercise one muscle group are frequently very much different than those required to exercise a different muscle group. For example, the type of motion and the amount of resistance required to perform leg extensions is very different from the type of motion and amount of resistance required for performing leg presses. As a result, the exercise equipment needed to perform leg extensions differs significantly from the type of equipment required to perform leg presses.
Because the type of exercise equipment required to perform different lower body leg exercises differs significantly, a person wishing to perform both types of exercises must employ two different pieces of equipment. Alternatively, a single multi-exercise apparatus could be designed that simply incorporates sufficient equipment to allow several types of lower body exercises to be performed. Such equipment, however, would tend to be relatively large and cumbersome. While this would normally not create a problem in a commercial setting such as a public gym or the like, such equipment would not be useful to the average person wishing to exercise at home.
Undoubtedly, attempts have been made to consolidate different types of equipment into a single multi-exercise apparatus which is compact so as to be useful in a home. Most such machines, however, require substantial rearrangement or reconfiguration of the various parts by the user. To applicant""s knowledge, any proposed machine that does not require extensive reconfiguration does not provide the appropriate motion or range of motion for properly performing the desired exercises.
The present invention is designed to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art described above. The exercise apparatus of the invention is compact and allows a user to perform a variety of leg exercises including leg extensions and leg presses. Although the invention could be attached to substantially any piece of exercise apparatus, in its preferred form it includes a frame having an upper frame member and a lower base frame member. A seat is mounted to the upper frame member and is arranged to permit a user to sit thereon while facing forwardly. The lower base frame member extends forwardly of the seat and the lower end of a press arm is pivotally secured to the forward end thereof. The press arm extends upwardly to the area in front of the seat and the upper end thereof is pivotable toward and away from the seat. A first resistance, which may be a part of a conventional weight stack and cable system, biases the press arm toward the seat. A curl bar has an upper end pivotally secured to the upper end of said press arm such that the lower end of the curl bar is pivotable toward and away from the press arm and a curl pad is adjustably mounted adjacent the lower end of the curl bar. The curl pad is arranged so that a user sitting on the seat can position his feet under the curl pad with the curl pad engaging the upper part of the user""s feet and the forward part of the user""s ankles for performing leg extensions. When such leg extension exercises are being performed, a second resistance, which may also be a part of a conventional weight stack and cable system, biases the curl bar toward the press arm. A foot engaging pad or the like is also carried by the curl bar for engagement by the bottom of a user""s feet for performing leg press exercises.